Method of treating lubricating oils and the products resulting therefrom



Patented Oct. 24, 1933 PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF TREATING LUBRICATING OILSAND THE PRODUCTS RESULTING THERE- FROM Benjamin Gallsworthy, Bayonne, N.J., assignor to The Texas Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware No Drawing. Application May 9, 1930 Serial No. 451,205

2 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of treating compounded lubricatingoils or the separate constituents prior to the compounding thereof, andit is an object of my invention to produce a compounded lubricating oilhaving a high lubricating value.

It has been determined that lubricating oils can be improved to a markeddegree by compounding therewith a relatively small amount of oxidizedparaflin wax. Experiments have indicated that varying amounts of theoxidized wax may be used but compounded oils containing about 2% of suchwax have been found to give satisfactory results. Oils so compoundedordinarily have a comparatively high acid value. For example, wherecompounded oils have been made up of 250 pale oil with two per cent ofoxidized paraffin wax taken from different batches, it has been foundthat the acid values of the compounded oils have varied from 1.08 to1.70, depending upon the particular characteristics of the oxidizedparaffin wax used.

Lubricating oils having acid values as high or possibly higher thanthose indicated above may be entirely satisfactory for certain purposes,but in many instances it is desirable to use oils having relatively lowacid values and in such cases it is possible to treat oils having highacid values to reduce the acid values and thereby provide oils havingthe desired characteristics.

I have found that the acid value of a lubricating oil compounded with arelatively small amount of oxidized paraffin wax can be materiallydecreased by treating the compounded oil with an adsorbent material suchas decolorizing clay of the type of fullers earth while maintaining itat a temperature of from 120 to 140 F. Oil compounded with two per centof oxidized paraflin wax has been treated in the manner just describedwith the result that the acid value has been reduced to between0.30-0.48, which is a marked decrease from the 1.08-1.70 acid valuebefore the treatment.

My invention also contemplates the treatment of oxidized parafiin waxprior to compounding it with filtered lubricating oil stock. Theoxidized Wax may be cut back with a volatile diluent such as naphtha orlight gasoline to render it suitable for treatment with the adsorbentmaterial and the diluent can be subsequently removed, or the wax may betreated in a more concentrated form, if preferred, due to the fact thatthe clay treatment is effected with sufficient heat to reduce the wax toa liquid or semi-liquid condition. In carrying out the invention in thismanner the wax is first treated with an adsorbent material to effect adecrease in its acid value and the treated wax is then compounded withthe lubricating oil stock to produce an oil having a high lubricatingvalue.

This invention is not limited to the treatment of oils compounded withany specific quantity of oxidized parafiin wax or at any specific degreeof heat, for experiments have shown that from one to five per cent ofwax can be used with entirely satisfactory results and that thetemperature may be varied throughout a considerable range. Othermodifications of the invention may suggest themselves to those skilledinthe art, and I desire therefore to be limited only as indicated in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a lubricating oil having an acid value of lessthan .5%, which comprises treating oxidized paraffin wax with fullersearth while maintaining it at a temperature sufficient to keep it in aliquid state to reduce its acid value and thereafter compounding thetreated wax with lubricating oil stock in the proportion of l to 5%.

2. A method of producing a lubricating oil having an acid value of lessthan 5%, which comprises cutting back oxidized paraffin wax with avolatile diluent, treating the cut-back wax with fullers earth, whilemaintaining it at a temperature of about 120 to 140 F., removing thediluent and finally compounding the treated wax with lubricating oilstock in the proportions of 1 to 5%.

' BENJAMIN GALLSWORTHY.

